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Rondane National Park

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                 Rondane National Park
   IUCN Category II ( National Park)
   A path in a u-valley, in summer

                       A path in a u-valley, in summer

   Location:       Hedmark and Oppland, Norway
   Nearest city:   Otta
   Coordinates:    61°50′″N, 9°30′″E
   Area:           963 km²
                   (238,000 acres)
   Established:    December 21, 1962
   Governing body: Directorate for Nature Management

   Rondane National Park ( Norwegian: Rondane nasjonalpark) is the oldest
   national park in Norway, established on December 21, 1962. The park
   contains a number of peaks above 2000 metres (6560 feet), with the
   highest being Rondslottet at an altitude of 2178 metres (7146 feet).
   The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer.

   The park was extended in 2003, and now covers an area of 963  km²
   (372 mi²) in the counties Oppland and Hedmark. Rondane lies just to the
   east of Gudbrandsdal and two other mountain areas, Dovre and
   Jotunheimen are nearby.

Geography

   Rondane is a typical high mountain area, with large plateaus and a
   total of ten peaks above 2000 metres (6560 feet). The highest point is
   Rondslottet ("The Rondane Castle") at an altitude of 2178 metres (7146
   feet). The lowest point is just below the tree-line, which is
   approximately 1000 to 1100 metres (about 3300 to 3600 feet) above sea
   level. The climate is mild but relatively arid. Apart from the White
   Birch trees of the lower areas, the soil and rocks are covered by
   heather and lichen, since they lack nutrients. The largest mountains
   are almost entirely barren; above 1500 metres (5000 feet) nothing but
   the hardiest lichens grow on the bare stones.

   The mountains are divided by marked valleys through the landscape; the
   deepest valley is filled by Rondvatnet, a narrow lake filling the steep
   space between the large Storronden-Rondslottet part and Smiubelgen
   ("The Forge"). The central massif is also cut by "botns": flat, dead
   stone valleys below the steep mountain walls of the peaks. Generally,
   Rondane does not receive enough precipitation to generate persistent
   glaciers, but glacier-like heaps of snow can be found in the flat back
   valleys.

   The centre of the Park is the Rondvatnet lake, from which all the peaks
   beyond 2000 metres (6560 feet) of altitude can be reached in less than
   one day's walk. In this central region and north of it, the altitude is
   quite high compared with the flatter plateaus of the south. The top
   peaks are Rondslottet (2178 m; 7145 ft), Storronden (2138 m; 7014 ft)
   and Høgronden (2118 m; 6949 ft).

   In many parts of the park, there are spread-out holes ( kettle holes)
   created by small remains of ice age glaciers, and peculiar small hills
   called " eskers" made by ground moraine released by melting glaciers.
   The peaks of Rondane, seen from the south. Storronden and Rondslottet
   are the first two on the right. The left part of the massif is
   Smiubelgen ("The Forge").
   Enlarge
   The peaks of Rondane, seen from the south. Storronden and Rondslottet
   are the first two on the right. The left part of the massif is
   Smiubelgen ("The Forge").

History

Prehistory

   The history of life in the area of the Park begins at the end of the
   latest ice age. Large climate changes allowed reindeer to spread widely
   across Scandinavia, only to be forced back to a much smaller area —
   including the Rondane mountain area — only some hundreds of years
   later. Archaeologists have found that the forest quickly grew at high
   altitudes; birch trees found at 1030 metres (3379 feet) were 8500 years
   old.

   On the mountain plateaux, there is evidence that nomadic
   hunter-gatherers lived off reindeer. Large traps used to catch reindeer
   can be found at Gravhø and Bløyvangen and are also spread all
   throughout the park. These are constructed from stone to make holes or
   large fenced-in areas into which reindeer could be tricked or led.

   In conjunction with these large traps, there are also small arched
   stone walls which are believed to have been used as hiding places for
   archers waiting for prey. Various dating methods have suggested that
   the earliest traps may be as old as 3500 years. Most of the findings,
   including remains of houses, date back to the years between 500 and 700
   CE. It is thus known with confidence that the large traps and
   accompanying walls were used from the 6th century until the onset of
   the Black Death in the 14th century.

Establishment

   Smiubelgen
   Enlarge
   Smiubelgen

   After nearly a decade of planning, Rondane was established as the first
   Norwegian National Park on December 21, 1962. It was first established
   as a nature protection area, but was later named a national park. The
   main reasons for protecting the park were "to safeguard the natural
   environment with its native plants, animal life, and cultural heritage
   and also to secure the environment as a recreational area for future
   generations".^ ;

   Legal efforts to protect nature in Norway date from 1954, when the
   Nature protection law was passed. Soon after, in 1955, community
   meetings were held in the municipalities close to Rondane, and a
   commission was founded. Norman Heitkøtter was president of the
   commission, and made it possible by Royal resolution to establish
   Rondane National Park. At its establishment, the Park covered an area
   of 580 km² (224 mi²).

   Although Rondane was the first national park in Norway, many others
   followed. The parks are maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for
   Nature Management.

2003 expansion

   As a special measure for the protection of the wild reindeer, the park
   was significantly enlarged in 2003, its area increasing from 580 to
   963 km² (224 to 372 mi²). The park was enlarged mainly to the
   north-west, and slightly in the east and south. In addition, areas with
   lesser protection (landscape protection as well as nature protection
   areas) were established in connection with the park. A new national
   park, Dovre National Park, between Rondane and
   Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park was also opened. Following the
   expansion, it is now only approximately 1 kilometre from the northern
   border of Rondane to the southern border of Dovre National Park, and
   large sections of adjacent mountain areas are protected by the three
   parks.

Geology

   Geology in Rondane; the rock shows signs of sedimentation.
   Enlarge
   Geology in Rondane; the rock shows signs of sedimentation.

   The bedrock in Rondane comes from a shallow sea floor, created 500 to
   600 million years ago. From this, changes in the Earth's crust created
   a mountain area of metamorphic rock and quartz. There are no fossils
   found in Rondane today and so it is thought the sea where the rock came
   from contained no animal life.

   The present landscape was mostly formed by the most recent ice age,
   nine to ten thousand years ago. At that time large quantities of ice
   were formed, and it is believed that the ice melted gradually in
   shifting cycles of melting and ice accumulation. The ice melting must
   have been rapid when it happened, digging deep river valleys.

   Rondane contains a few small canyons which were created by the rapid
   ice melting, most prominently Jutulhogget and Vesle-Ula.

Biology

   Rondane is one of the few places in Scandinavia and Europe where wild
   reindeer (as opposed to the domestic breed) are found. The Directorate
   for Nature Management regards Rondane as "especially important as a
   life supporting area for the native reindeer"^ . It is estimated that
   approximately 2000 to 4000 reindeer live in Rondane and the nearby
   Dovre area. To protect the reindeer population in their core area,
   during the last ten years hiking trails have been moved. The park was
   also enlarged in 2003 to provide increased protection for the reindeer.

   Other large game, including roe deer and elk (moose) are commonplace
   along the rims of the park and occasionally musk ox from Dovre can be
   seen. Wolverines and a small population of bears are also present,
   while wolves are rare.

   The reindeer largely rely on the lichen and reindeer moss that grow
   together with heather and hardy grass on the quite arid and
   nutrient-poor stony plateaus. The lichen provide food for the reindeer,
   but also fertilize the earth, making it possible for less hardy plants
   to grow, and mice and lemmings to feed. One of the flower species to
   survive very well is the Glacier Crowfoot, found up to 1700 metres
   (5580 feet).

Tourism

   Red T-markings show the way on marked trails.
   Enlarge
   Red T-markings show the way on marked trails.

   Visitors to Rondane are free to hike and camp in all areas of the park,
   except in the immediate vicinity of cabins. Apart from being closed for
   motor traffic, not many special regulations apply. Fishing and hunting
   is available to licensees.

   The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) is an association that
   owns and manages a network of mountain cabins in the service of hikers.
   In Rondane, there is a central cabin by the southern end of the lake
   Rondvatnet, Rondvassbu. There is also Dørålseter and Bjørnhollia at the
   northern and eastern rims of the park. All three cabins are manned, and
   provide food and limited accommodation (possible to book beforehand).
   There are also un-manned cabins in the Park, like Eldåbu where a key is
   needed.

   DNT also mark trails in the Park, with red Ts that are easy to spot.
   The T-trails lead the way cabin-to-cabin, as well as marking the path
   to some of the peaks close to Rondvatnet. Recently, some of the trails
   have moved slightly to avoid the core areas of the wild reindeer.

   The service cabins are also open during the winter season, although
   they are sometimes only self-serviced off season. Ski trails are marked
   and sometimes prepared, either by DNT or some of the hotels and skiing
   resorts close to the park.

Rondane in literature

   The landscapes of Rondane have inspired many Norwegian writers.
   Probably the best-known work is Peer Gynt (1867), a play by Henrik
   Ibsen, which is partly set in Rondane:

          Act 2, Scene lV
          (Among the Ronde mountains. Sunset. Shining snowpeaks all
          around.
          Peer Gynt enters, dizzy and bewildered.)
          Peer

                Tower over tower arises!
                Hei, what a glittering gate!
                Stand! Will you stand! It's drifting
                further and further away!
                ...

   With this, Ibsen wrote Rondane into one of the best of dramas of the
   19th century and made Rondane a symbol for the natural beauty of
   Norway.

   Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, writer and gatherer of Norwegian folk tales
   in the mid-19th century, collected many stories connected with Rondane,
   including Peer Gynt, the story that inspired Ibsen. A third writer who
   set one of his famous works in Rondane is the poet Aasmund Olavsson
   Vinje with his poem No ser eg atter slike Fjell og Dalar.

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